The Clown, The Bird, and The Bat
by jmichaelbruce
Summary: QUICK READ. A concise, hit-the-ground-running, variant on the Jason Todd story.


Five Minutes.

The Batmobile screamed around me and yet I pushed the throttle further. I designed the Batmobile through countless reiterations and over time I have developed the perfect engine that will run nearly in silence. It has never before been pushed this hard.

Four Minutes Fifty Seconds.

I swore profanely beneath my breath. Jason knew better-No, I berate myself. He _should_ have known better. After Dick left to Blüdhaven as Nightwing, I took on a new Robin. I saw Jason Todd once trying to steal the tires from the Batmobile; the same Batmobile with sensors, alarms, anti-burglary defenses, and self-sealing chassis. And he almost got away with it. In the coming weeks he proved himself worthy in other ways, if a bit reckless at times. He made a marvelous replacement as Robin, but it was that recklessness that put him in this night's trouble.

Four Minutes.

It was a routine patrol, but Robin caught sight of something amiss. The two of us immediately descended towards the closed pharmacy, and I couldn't help but smile privately and proudly. He had seen something before me, or perhaps I was becoming less alert with age. Either way, it was good to have Jason at my side, and his lead proved true. Half a dozen men in clown masks were raiding the store, gathering chemicals and pharmaceutical equipment. It must have been Joker's gang gathering supplies so that that madman could produce more of his murderous gas. Within moments, I had five of the six men subdued and one was running off empty handed. I was happy to let him go to disappoint his boss, but Jason began to run after him. I called for my protégé to stop, but suddenly an inconspicuously placed clown statue exploded in a shower of foul-smelling gas and I blacked out.

Two Minutes Fifty-Nine Seconds.

I gave another glance to the clown statue sitting next to me and I punched he necessary buttons to divert more power to the engines. When I had awoken in the pharmacy, I had found the clown statue sitting on top of a map and a photograph. The map had a building highlighted on the other end of Gotham, and the photograph was of a beaten and bound Robin. The clown now showed a timer that was counting down second by second. It wasn't a bomb, that I knew.

It was how much longer Jason would be alive.

Two Minutes.

I rounded the last corner sharper than I should have and chipped off a chunk of the building. The Batmobile was beginning to shake from the rough turns and speed, but I pushed it farther. I can't lose Jason. Not now. He's counting on me.

One Minute Thirty Seconds.

I could see the warehouse now. A rusty, abandoned building, nearly indistinguishable from the others around it, but I memorized the location from the map. When I got as close as the Batmobile could manage, I turned it off and leap out of the vehicle while it was still whining.

One Minute.

I pushed every ounce of energy I had into my leg muscles, but it seemed like slow motion. I abandoned the clown in the car, but the countdown was still running in my mind.

Forty-Five Seconds.

I reached the doors. Locked of course. I pulled a laser from my utility belt and waited the agonizing seconds for it to pierce through the lock. Some detached part of my brain made the note for Wayne Industries to invest more research into stronger lasers.

Thirty Seconds.

The doors swung wide with the force of my arms and I found myself in a vast, empty room. For a millisecond, I panicked, but then I saw the large crate in the back corner with the hastily spray-painted bat symbol on it.

Fifteen Seconds.

I began attacking the boards with the blades on my forearms, haphazardly tearing away the weak wood.

"I'm coming Jason!" I yelled, not caring who heard.

Ten Seconds.

The wood peeled away and I saw the dark emptiness inside. I stuck my head in, desperately seeking hope.

Five Seconds.

At the bottom of the crate was a dead bird. It wasn't even a robin, it was an Eastern Towhee, but the message was clear. I'd been tricked.

Four Seconds.

I sprinted towards the door.

Three Seconds.

How could I let this happen? Of course, it was a trick! Of course, the Joker would lie to you!

Two seconds.

Tears streamed down my face, unnoticed.

One second.

I left the warehouse just as another building two hundred yards away exploded.

END


End file.
